Abnormal
by xXCOMMANDERXx
Summary: "I wasn't ordinary. Not even close." When the Joker breaks into Gotham High looking for a suitable hostage, he comes across a girl, Ivy- a very interesting individual. Is The Joker simply a crazy psychopath, or are they more alike than meets the eye? No slash, could be a teensy bit out of character, but I'll try and keep that to the minimum.
1. Introductions

**I don't own anything in here except _my _characters. If I did, I would be writing this in the back of my gold-plated limousine, not on a scratched desk with a few ginger-beer bottles and several chocolate wrappers lying on it. Anyway- here. We. Go. **

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I wasn't ordinary. Not even close. As much as I wanted to be normal, to fit in, it just went against every _ab_normal cell in my body. I wasn't a psycho or anything- I was just strange. Most of the time I wasn't sure if I just had a very strong imagination, or if I was actually hallucinating. My classmates called it 'weird', my teachers called it 'odd', my invisible friend Lucy called it 'creepy' and, had they been around, my parents probably would have called it something a lot more colorful. I don't know, I guess my brain just works differently from everyone else's.

I have been living in Gotham all my life now, unless you count the nine months I spent inside the uterus of some woman I had never met before. My parents dropped me off in an old apartment in the dark side of Gotham, where I spent the first few months of my life breathing in dust and waiting for the woman who brought me milk once a day, every day. Sounds miserable, right? Wrong. Well, sort of wrong. Instead of playing with stuffed, anatomically incorrect carnivorous mammals, I played with Lucy. We soon became the best of friends, and would talk about everything together- why the milk looks a little green today, why the lady is running later than usual, why do the dust bunnies seem to be converging around our bed... Soon, I forgot that Lucy wasn't real, and by that time I didn't really care. As we began to explore the apartment, I found a few books- one with the alphabet, one about frogs, and one on quantum physics. I worked my way through the alphabet, and soon had read and re-read '101 Things You Didn't Know About Frogs' more times than I could yet count.

At the age of five-and-two-months, I gathered the courage to step outside of the apartment- but as Lucy and I finally made it all the way to the first floor and were about to open the heavy metal door, guess who showed up? Did you guess? Good. You probably got it right. My mother towered over us, hands on hips, breathing heavily, cheap makeup smudging on her fake-tanned face. Not that I knew it was her. Anyway, long story short, she drove Lucy and me to another apartment, this one a little lighter, and we spent the night there. The next day she took us to a building that seemed a whole lot bigger then than it does now- school. I was accepted, and soon went back there every day. It was scary, but curiosity soon overcame fear. I slept in the new apartment, where my mother resided.

When I turned six, my 'mother' explained that I would live on my own for now, and If anybody asked for her, then I should say: 'she went out for a few days'. I didn't really understand, but didn't want to get her angry either. I nodded furiously, and she was gone quicker than she came.

And so here I am, turning fourteen in a few days, walking the two kilometers to Gotham High, as I had done for a while now. Lucy trailed along behind me, quickening her pace every time I called over my shoulder for her to hurry up. Despite my somewhat odd and sad back-story, I was pretty happy. _Very _happy, actually. I functioned perfectly well on my own, using the small wads of cash that came in a manilla envelope once a month the best way I could- there was enough food, warmth, entertainment... And I can still name one hundred and one things _you _probably didn't know about frogs.


	2. Wildlife

I walked through the huge, wide-open doors of Gotham High, stomping my feet to get the snow off of them, just as an ice-cold wind picked up outside. I shivered violently, and turned around- I could almost _see _the wind's face as it grinned deviously, all too aware of the discomfort it was causing. I scowled at it, and made my way up a large staircase towards the classroom. Lucy followed me grudgingly, muttering something about taxis and cash.

I sat down at the designated seat, ignoring the sneers some of the other girls shot my way. This had been the norm for several years now, when my classmates began to realize that talking to inanimate and non-existent objects wasn't really... normal. But to hell with being normal! Who wants to be normal when you can imagine anything you want and have it appear before your very eyes? Granted only _your _very eyes, but hey- nobody's perfect.

The grating, high-pitched ring of the first bell broke my train of thought, as the rest of the class stomped into the room noisily and reluctantly sat down. They were followed but our teacher, whose name I don't consider important. The class started, and I tried to pay attention, I _really _did- but it just wasn't possible.

Have you ever been bored so badly, that doodling simply doesn't cut it anymore? I have, frequently. It was at times like these, (Maths, Geography, and sometimes History), that I would turn to my imagination for help. Well, that sounded pretty dramatic. Hehe.

My newest fetish was imagining what the people around me would be like if they were animals- sounds odd, but try it! Soon, after a few moments of concentration, at the front of the class was a huge barn owl, pointing at the board with her long, feathered wings. Clichéd, I know, but entertaining nonetheless.

The giggling, texting girls at the back became fire-pelted foxes, swarming around, weaving in and out of the desks. The rowdy group of boys turned to a blur of young, orange and black tigers, growling and swatting at each other with massive paws. The shy girl to my right, scribbling furiously in her book, suddenly melted into the form of a large black cat, eyes alert and tail twitching manically. Students continued to become their animal counter-parts, and soon the room was filled with colorful birds, elegant deer, adorable kittens, fierce cheetahs, majestic lions, spirited horses, and _oh_-so-many more.

I sighed- if only the rest of them could see what I did right now...

The only problem with this 'gift', was that it took a _lot _more to stop it than it did to start. So, when a piercing gunshot rang out, and the huge owl let out a terrified hoot, what _I_ saw was a whole _zoo _of animals panicking, screeching, growling, hissing, and otherwise torturing my eardrums.

But, of course, they all went quiet when, with bared teeth and an air of authority, into the room sauntered a huge, beautiful, _terrifying_, black wolf.

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**Sorry if the Chapters are a little short at the moment, I don't really know what's going on right now... So, do you guys like it? Please please PLEASE review! ****_Constructive_**** criticism is welcome, but be nice- this is my first Joker story!**


	3. Smiles

_As I entered the room, the children scattered- I allowed myself a small smile. Their teacher- an old and wrinkly thing- stayed at the front, her jaw dropping. Yes, my dashing good looks tended to have that effect on people- women were _constantly _fainting around me. _

Plenty of suitable hostages, _I though, running my tongue over the scars. _

_I frowned, noticing a girl who was looking at me- yes, straight at me. Still in her seat, book in front of her, pen in hand. She wasn't smiling, yet she wasn't horrified. Her face was blank. Blank, with the faintest hint of a smile on her red lips. She tilted her head to the side, her short brown hair falling around her face. She seemed... strange. Odd. Testing how easily she would scare, I smiled at her. _

_She smiled back. _

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Of course, it wasn't an actual _wolf _that now stood in the classroom/zoo, but something a whole lot more dangerous. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Soon, the foxes, tigers, birds, cats, etc., faded, and this is what I saw- my classmates, bunched together at one side of the room, trembling, terrified. My teacher at the font of the class, frozen, still pointing to a complicated-looking equation on the board. (I made a mental note to catch up on the work I'd missed today). _I _was still sitting in my seat, remarkably.

At the other side of the room stood The Joker.

It's not like I didn't know what he looked like- he had been shown countless times on GCN- but he seemed a lot more threatening in real life. Obviously. The greasepaint on his face was slightly faded and smudged, making it all the more alarming. He wore the trademark dark purple suit that was so infamous around Gotham, and likely many other cities too. He was probably the tallest man I had ever come across, with wide shoulders and power practically _radiating _from him. He was the kind of person who could silence a room-full of screaming maniacs simply by walking in. Which, I guess, is what he just did. Sort of.

He must have realized I had been staring, because he frowned and did that thing with his lips we had all seen so many times- I wasn't sure what that was, it seemed like he was trying to pull his scars... _closer. _

He smiled. The Joker smiled at me. Sure, it was even more terrifying than before- when he had been a wolf and bared his teeth- but it was a smile nonetheless. I smiled back, instinctively. This caused his grin to grow larger still, and for one sickening moment I thought his scars would tear apart. I briefly wondered what he would look like without all of that greasepaint- but it somehow didn't seem like the right time to bring that up.

He cocked his head to one side, and I examined his eyes- they were blacker than I thought was possible; it seemed like he didn't have any irises at all!

"See something you like, sweetheart?"

His scratchy, nasal voice snapped me out of my daydream, and I quickly stood up, knocking over my chair in the process. The Joker giggled slightly, tonguing at his scars again.

"I like you, girlie. Care to come with me?"

I shrugged, and regretted it instantly. Was that a no? Why did I do that?! If there's _anything _I've learnt from watching TV, it's that when The Joker tells you to do something, 'no' isn't an option.

_Hehe, I wonder if that's what my cable company was going for..._

"Wasn't a question, _sweetheart_."

That was the last thing I heard, before I felt something heavy hit the back of my head, and the world receded into darkness.


End file.
